1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a print control method and a print control apparatus, and particularly to a print control method and a print control apparatus that manage functions incorporated in a printing device.
2. Description of the Related Art
When a printing device such as a printer is used in the network environment, a printer driver identified as software for operating the printing device is installed in an information processing apparatus (hereinafter, referred to as “PC”) connected to the printing device in a wired or wireless manner. A user uses the printer driver to cause the printing device to perform printing, by designating a function (e.g., stapling) of the printing device he/she desires to use.
The use of the functions of the printing device may be restricted depending on a user or the state of configuration of the printing device. It is often the case that a printer driver is configured to display a fixed message when a function of which use is restricted is designated as the function desired to be used.
In recent years, the printing devices have increasingly been improved and diversified in terms of functions, as represented by an MFP (Multi Function Peripheral) or the like. Accordingly, there is an increasing demand to restrict the use of the functions on a per-division basis, on a per-user basis, or on a per-period basis. In response to such a demand, a recent printing device allows an administrator or the like to restrict the use of individual functions for particular users.
In the case where the use of the function a user is desired to use is restricted, if a fixed message alone is displayed as described above, the user operating a PC to perform printing cannot understand the reason why the use of the function is restricted, i.e., whether the use of the relevant function is restricted by an administrator or the like on a per-division basis, per-user basis or per-period basis, or whether the function is temporarily unusable doe to a shortage of resources or an error, or whether the function is unavailable with the current state of configuration of the printing device.
Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2005-045426, for example, discloses a composite machine that provides a display on an operation panel indicating whether the scanner is temporarily unusable or requires repair to make it usable. With this technique, however, when a user is operating a PC at a distance from the printing device remotely via a network, he/she cannot understand the reason why the use is restricted. As such, it is difficult for a user operating printing on a PC to determine whether there is a possibility that the relevant function becomes available by contacting the administrator, or whether he/she should wait until when the function becomes usable.